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Hau Lee - Boosting Profits Through Social Responsibility

Companies can indeed make money while operating in socially responsible and environmentally friendly ways. It just takes what supply chain expert Hau Lee calls the Triple-A approach—having agility, adaptability, and alignment. Closing the Stanford 2008 Responsible Supply Chains Conference, Lee describes how small to mid-sized companies in China, India, and Israel boosted profits while shrinking waste and pollution and providing a fair workplace for employees.

Socially and Environmentally Responsible Supply Chains Conference - Strategies for Improving Product

Not a week goes by without a product safety incident splashed across the headlines. As companies face increasing layers of suppliers, the task of monitoring the many links in the chain becomes a formidable challenge. The situation is particularly troubling for social entrepreneurs, who are especially vulnerable. In this panel discussion from the 2008 Responsible Supply Chains Conference, executives who have experienced product safety challenges share what they have done to address these challenges head on.

Dan Henkle - Gap’s Progress on Corporate Social Responsibility

The Gap monitors 2,000 garment factories in 50 countries and conducts about 4,000 inspections annually to make sure its suppliers are operating under ethical guidelines. Dan Henkle, the executive who oversees this inspection process, as well as the company's community investment and environmental affairs efforts, outlines The Gap's corporate responsibility programs in this audio lecture recorded at the 2008 Responsible Supply Chains Conference.

Making Supply Chains Socially Responsible - Fresh Approaches to Supply Chain Practices

How does an organization not only promote green and sustainable products but also conduct business in a socially responsible way? At the Stanford 2008 Responsible Supply Chains Conference, leaders of three pioneering enterprises talk in a panel discussion about how they integrate fair trade, sustainable design, green purchasing, and public/private partnerships into every aspect of their business. They offer advice for other organizations and share how they are working to promote social responsibility in their respective industries.

Gary Smith - Doing Well and Doing Good in the Supply Chain

Timberland, the footwear and apparel company headquartered in New Hampshire, is putting good old New England values to work to integrate socially responsible management practices throughout the value chain. Speaking at Stanford during the 2007 Responsible Supply Chains Conference, Gary Smith demonstrates in this audio lecture how in the more than 35 countries where his firm has a business presence, doing good does not have to be at odds with doing well.

Tony Prophet - Social Good and Environmental Sustainability at HP

With energy costs on the rise and the U.S. government expected to push for reduced carbon emissions, environmental sustainability has become a market imperative for Hewlett-Packard. Speaking at Stanford for the 2007 Responsible Supply Chains Conference, HP's senior VP of personal systems, Tony Prophet, shares how his company is working to reduce its environmental footprint throughout the product life cycle.

Making Supply Chains Socially Responsible - Promoting Sustainability in the Coffee Industry

Starbucks has developed guidelines for creating and maintaining a sustainable supply chain, which it calls Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices. These coffee-buying guidelines help the company establish equitable relationships with farmers, workers, and communities. In this audio lecture recorded at Stanford during the 2007 Responsible Supply Chains Conference, Willard Hay explores what's making C.A.F.E. Practices successful.

Making Supply Chains Socially Responsible - Environmental Sustainability and Supply Chains

Environmental sustainability is now an imperative for supply chains, and buyers and procurement professionals have more power than ever to exert pressure on suppliers to provide green products. Businesses are also partnering with government and nonprofits to create change in this arena. How do you communicate with suppliers on environmental innovation? At the Stanford 2007 Responsible Supply Chains Conference, executives from an HMO, a government agency, and an entrepreneurial company share successes in greening the supply chains.

Hannah Jones - Corporate Social Responsibility and Innovation

Nike has traveled the full range of the corporate social responsibility movement, from the campaigning days when it was a poster child for all things to do with poor working conditions through the era of multistakeholder partnerships. It has now moved into the next phase where corporate responsibility becomes part of the business model. Speaking at the Stanford 2007 Responsible Supply Chains Conference, Nike's VP for corporate responsibility, Hannah Jones, looks at the future of corporate responsibility as the focus shifts upstream.

Making Supply Chains Socially Responsible - Measuring Corporate Social Responsibility

Companies around the world are trying to figure out how to evaluate their performance—as well as that of their suppliers—on a host of corporate social responsibility (CSR) dimensions in areas such as diversity, community development, and environmental issues. How can CSR influence business initiatives and the value of CSR efforts be measured? In this panel discussion, Stanford 2007 Responsible Supply Chains Conference panelists share lessons and resources.

Lawrence Jackson - Environmental Sustainability for Cheap

For Wal-Mart, social responsibility includes keeping products affordable to the millions of low- and middle-income consumers who form the bulk of its customer base. In this University podcast, Lawrence Jackson, former Wal-Mart president,  brings the perspectives of someone who grew up in inner city Washington, D.C., to ask a Stanford audience at the 2007 Responsible Supply Chains Conference whether pushing for social and environmental responsibility in business is a racially and economically segregated movement.

Al Gore - Fostering Enviornmental Sustainability

The industrialized world is on a collision course with nature, says environmental sustainability hero and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore. In this audio lecture, he presents the realities of global warming with alarming clarity and conclusiveness and passionately urges a Stanford Business School audience to take action.